A sketch in black, white, and gray of a man with a short beard, his eyes gazing a bit downward.
By Alonso Cano (1601-1667), Portrait of an Ecclesiastic, ca. 1625-1628, oil on canvas, 102.5 x 78.5 cm (40 9/16 x 31 1/8 in.), in the collection of the Hispanic Society of America, currently on view in a temporary exhibit at the Blanton Museum in Austin, Texas. The museum label: “In this portrait, the sitter fixes the viewer with a penetrating gaze, as if urging us to think upon the brevity of human existence as the sands of time run out in the hourglass under his right hand. The hourglass, along with the sitter's sober presence and the book, suggest the devotional practices of reflection, meditation, and contemplation epitomized in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. Alonso Cano was born in Granada and probably trained with his father, a retablero, who designed and carved altarpieces and choir stalls, before the family moved to Seville. There, Cano was apprenticed to the painter Francisco Pacheco, coinciding for a few months with Diego Velázquez, and is said to have also trained in sculpture with Juan Martínez Montañés. While he was chiefly a draftsman and designer, he was also successful as an architect, painter, and sculptor.”
I did some quick sketches at the art museum today. On the left, my sketch, drawn freehand on my iPad Pro using the Sketch Club app; on the right, the original work by Alonso Cano, Portrait of an Ecclesiastic, oil on canvas. More info in ALT. #art #digitalart #ipadart #artapp #drawingapp #painting